re: Vista UI Changes

raskren — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 23:26:06 GMT

I must say that I like where the UI is headed. Whenever I evaluate something like this the question always becomes, "How does this make me a faster/more efficient user." Don't get the wrong idea. I'm no stick-in-the-mud-still-using-Win98-user. I want, no, I *need* a beautiful OS. Beautiful design makes me a happier/better user. I use Xp now because I like how it looks. I like alpha blended icons and other transparency. It is more attractive, which makes me happier and thus a better computer user (efficiency ++).

The first thing that will stand out to anybody in Beta 1 is the window border transparency. The windows are *extremely* transparent. However, the blurring effect seems to make the window appear a just little more opaque which is good. I do think things are just a bit too transparent. Multiple windows stacked upon each other create a muddied, hard to read display. It becomes difficult to tell the "stacking" order of each window in that scenario. Shadows do help but only to a certain degree.

Shadows are something that I believe does increase my productivity. So much so that I have an application for Windows Xp that shadows all of my windows for me. It has become much easier to tell, at a glance, the window stacking order. Windows Xp without these window effects feels slightly awkward to me. That said, the shadows in Beta 1 are spot on.

Finally I want to touch on the icons. To me, 16 color icons are not beautiful design. Vista will not be a minimalistic OS so why should we have minimalistic (16-256 color) icons? The new icons in the control panel are very well done. The control panel itself also seems to be very well done as it extends the task-oriented approach one step beyond Xp. What Windows needs more of is luster and polish. I don't necessarily mean "make everything transparent and shiny" but a feeling of greater harmony. For example, if I open help for Outlook Express I am greeted with very old OE logos while OE itself hides behind a new 32-bit icon. That's the unity that is missing in many Windows' elements.

Beta 1 is off to a good start. They say that many of the really nice design elements will appear in Beta 2 and I anxiously await those changes.

More on Windows Vista Beta 1

Addicted to Digital Media — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 19:47:42 GMT

Kam VedBrat just emailed me with congrats on the new job. Kam is one of the PM's responsible for the

Kam VedBrat Windows Vista Beta 1 Press Highlights | storage bench

Kam VedBrat Windows Vista Beta 1 Press Highlights | storage bench — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:49:52 GMT

PingBack from http://thestoragebench.info/story.php?id=8871

Kam VedBrat Windows Vista Beta 1 Press Highlights | adirondack chairs

Kam VedBrat Windows Vista Beta 1 Press Highlights | adirondack chairs — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:15:06 GMT

PingBack from http://adirondackchairshub.info/story.php?id=3421